West Midlands Police officer sacked for racist comments

The force said it was "was the right thing to do" to challenge the original decision at the High Court

A West Midlands Police officer has been sacked from the force for making racist comments about his colleagues.

The officer, whose identity is being withheld due to the nature of his work, was dismissed after appearing before an independent misconduct panel.

He had been given a final written warning at hearing in September but the decision was challenged by the force.

The panel unanimously agreed the officer should be dismissed without notice on Thursday.

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The force's head of professional standards, Det Ch Supt Chris Todd, said there was "no place for racism in policing" and it was the "right thing to do therefore to challenge the original decision at the High Court".

"It was clear in this case that this officer felt it acceptable to talk about other colleagues in a racist way," he said.

"It was always our case that any officer or member of staff in West Midlands Police behaving in that way should be dismissed."

It comes after the region's Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson said 1,000 Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) officers would be recruited by the force over the next three years.